Ogre Unmasked

By the Three Blind Mice – Squeaky Leaks Investigations

For years, Duloc’s citizens have been told to fear the ogre in the swamp. The posters scream “MENACE, and “BEWARE OGRE!” The songs in the square warn children to stay away. The Lord himself has declared that the creature is a danger to cleanliness, safety, and order.

But is the ogre truly the monster Duloc propaganda paints him to be, or something else entirely?

Neighbors whisper that the ogre asked for nothing more than solitude. Farmers near the marsh claim he has kept thieves and poachers away from their fields. And more than one displaced fairy-tale creature says it was the ogre, not the Lord’s soldiers, who defended them when the walls of Duloc closed in.

So why does the official record call him a villain? Is it because he is dangerous, or because a villain to point to is expedient?

The truth may be murkier than the swamp itself. What Duloc calls menace may in fact be resistance. What Duloc calls ugliness may be simply honesty. And what Duloc calls order may come at the expense of voices forced into silence.

Perhaps the question is not whether the ogre is a monster, but whether Duloc can accept a hero who refuses to play by the rules.